Meet Your Match
by Frostforge44
Summary: Sequel to 'Pepper Piper: Weasel Sleuth'. After a powerful criminal that Pepper and Smarty put away escapes, it's up to her to put him back or die trying. There'll be old friends, enemies, and even more emotional obstacles for Pepper to conquer. And what happens when Pepper discovers and keeps a great secret that will change her life forever. That is, if she survives the case.
1. In the Fur and Flesh

**Well, it's the first chapter of the sequel to 'Pepper Piper: Weasel Sleuth' and I am proud of it! I have to admit it, I never thought I would make a sequel to the last story, but I got seriously inspired. By the way, sorry if the first chapter is so short, but I guess it'll be enough to set the tone for the story. **

**Anyway, I don't own WFRR or its characters. I only own my OCs. I hope you enjoy it!**

"It was real nice of ya to bring us to this place to celebrate my performance, Pepper," Ziggy said, fixing the red tie on his formal tan suit.

Pepper, who was dressed in her light violet dress, smiled and put a paw over his hoof, "Aw, Ziggy! It was nothing! You were great tonight and we wanted to do this for ya."

She had arranged to have a big dinner as a celebration after his debut as Romeo and had invited friends along for the performance and the dinner. This group of friends included Roger, Jessica, Alicia, Eddie, and Dolores.

A restaurant was built in New Toontown that was suitable for both human and toon alike. It went by the name of _Reality Bites_, though it was much harder to get into than the name implied. Still, with having two toon celebrities (Jessica and Roger Rabbit, that is) and two of Toontown's saviors (Pepper and Eddie, of course), it was fairly easy.

"Yeah. It's finally nice ta get a steak that doesn't attract the lions," Eddie joked, cutting into his meal.

"Hehe. And ta think, none of us would be sittin' here three months ago," Pepper thought aloud. "Now, we're sittin' around here, close as can be."

That's right. It had only been three months since the incident with Judge Doom and the near Dipping of Toontown. Now, there was peace among the humans and toons, not to mention fair justice for all toons.

"You know what I can't believe? I can't believe that we're all don't have bags under our eyes!" Roger said, pulling his eyelids up high. "After the Acme incident, I had them for weeks with all the nightmares I had!"

"I don't know about that, since I wasn't there for it, but being threatened by those Toon Patrol weasels nearly sent me into a panic attack," Alicia trembled at the very memory.

"Well, let's forget about that," Pepper said, trying to change the subject as far away from the Toon Patrol as possible. She still felt so heartbroken after what happened with Smart Ass. "Let's talk about something else."

"Erm, excuse me, Ms. Piper?" A vulture waiter tapped the light gray she-weasel on the shoulder. "There's someone outside who wishes to speak with you."

"Okay, thank you," Pepper nodded and turned to the rest of the group, "Will you all excuse me for just a moment?"

With that, Pepper made her way to the doors of the restaurant and peered around for the certain someone that wanted to speak to her. At first, she couldn't see any toon that looked interested in speaking to her. That was, of course, until she heard a most familiar voice call to her.

"Well, as I live and breathe. My dear little violet, it really is you!"

Pepper turned with a startled gasp before letting a large smile cross her face.

"Uncle Peter!"

She rushed into the black and white weasel's arms, hugging him tightly around his waist. He chuckled, patting her back and saying in his comforting, Louisianan drawl,

"Pepper Petra Piper, you've simply blossomed since ya left. How've ya been?"

Pulling away, Pepper smiled fondly at her godfather and uncle, "It's been rough these past few months. I'll tell ya about it later. What brings you here to New Toontown?"

Peter suddenly let go of her, his face going from warm to dead serious. He said to her, "I've come lookin' for ya, Pepper. It's Dr. Loxus. He's broken outta the Olde Toontown Asylum."

A look of horror had etched itself across the she-weasel's face. Her ears perked down and she involuntarily hugged herself, grasping her forearms as if a gold chill just ran up her spine. But at the name of Dr. Loxus, there might as well have been.

"Wh-what?" she whispered out. "How? I thought they had him put in their most secure cell!"

"We thought so, too," Peter shook his head, pulling at his vest as he continued, "But you know that old fox. He's one clever son of a vixen. Anyway, I've come lookin' for ya because we need your help. There's nobody more qualified and skilled to handle the catch'im than you are."

Pepper looked down at the sidewalk, thinking for a moment. After a moment, she lifted her head, "Okay. I'll do it."

* * *

Pepper had cleared her leaving with the rest of her party, who wished her luck on her newest case as she left. Now, she was with her uncle in his car on their way back to Olde Toontown. Back to the place of her birth and raising.

She had to admit it, she was so nervous about going back. She wondered how much it's changed, if it did at all. She was nervous about confronting the friends and others she had left behind without any notice nearly eight years earlier. Frankly, she never thought she would ever return. Especially in the case of Dr. Loxus' escape.

A bit of background is in need of explaining by now, no doubt. Dr. Foxus Loxus, formerly known as Foxy Loxy, was a researcher in the field of cloning. The project was meant to create stunt doubles for toons since, even though they're toons, they could only take so much damage when performing for television and movies and what not.

Anyway, nobody knew how or why, but Dr. Loxus snapped. He used his research to try to create the perfect doppelganger. The perfect _evil _doppelganger, that is. He went into hiding not too long after he was fired for his misuse of research and technology. What was worse was that not too long after _that_, toons started disappearing. Some of them were even being killed due to the failure of his cloning experiments.

Dr. Loxus was also the most dastardly criminals that Pepper and Smart Ass had put away when they still worked together. What Peter had said wasn't an exaggeration, either. Dr. Loxus was as strong and fast as he was clever. And being a fox, that was saying something. It was Wild and Witty Weasel's greatest triumph, especially since they caught him at the ages of twenty two and twenty three did in two weeks that the rest of the police force couldn't do for ten years. In fact, it's what put them down in Olde Toontown history.

"Uncle Peter?" Pepper asked, turning to her godfather. "Are ya sure I can do this by myself? I mean, Dr. Loxus is a clever toon. Even I had a hard time doin' it the first time-"

Peter interrupted with a chuckle, "Not to worry, my dear little violet. I have complete faith in you. Besides, you won't be alone."

"I won't? But, I thought-"

"Don't ya worry now. You won't be workin' alone. We've got a crack team ta work with you. It's a surprise," Peter explained.

* * *

Well, Pepper couldn't say that her home had changed much. It was still the black and white version of New Toontown, but it had its own personality that just made it home for Pepper.

"Well, we're here," Peter said, stopping in front of the very familiar police station.

Taking in a deep breath, Pepper opened her door, stepping outside and taking in the Olde Toontown air. It was just as clean and clear as she remembered it to be. Peter came beside her and set a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The double glass doors at the entrance opened up, making Pepper smile a bit. Chief Smart Mouth had not aged a day since she left and she couldn't help but notice how much he and Smart Ass looked alike. She would tell her deceased fiancé all the time how every day he would look more and more like his father.

"Pepper," he smiled, opening his arms, "C'mere, ya little kit!"

"I ain't a kit anymore, Chief!" Pepper laughed, but hugged him anyway. "I'm a fully grown weasel, thank you very much."

"My mistake," Smart Mouth chuckled, pulling away and looking her over. "You've certainly changed since ya left, Pepper."

"Thank you, Chief," Pepper blushed a bit. "So, about Dr. Loxus-"

"There'll be time for that later, Pepper," Smart Mouth became dead serious as well, much like Peter had when she had brought him up. She couldn't blame them, though. He was one of the biggest threats in all of Olde Toontown and was never talked about lightly among the citizens.

"Fer right now, I want ya ta meet someone," the weasel chief took her by the paw and lead her into the police station, Peter following closely behind. The three walked to the near back of the station, where they stopped right at the door of Smart Mouth's office.

Smart Mouth and Peter looked at Pepper, then shared a glance at each other before nodding. The chief weasel opened his door and nudged Pepper inside. At first, she saw nothing out of the ordinary, but she stopped dead in her tracks. Her lavender eyes were locked onto one of the chairs in the office. On a pair of golden eyes.

"Geez, Pepper! I know ya love me, but did ya really have ta dress up fer me?"

The light gray she-weasel swallowed the large lump in her throat as she whispered out,

"Smarty? Is…is that really you?"

Smart Ass, who was leaning back in a chair, smoking on a cigar, smirked as he waved a paw to himself, "In the fur and flesh, doll."


	2. Desperation

**Yay! Chapter two of my WFRR sequel! Before I get to the reviews, I want to make a few announcements, or acknowledgements, whichever you like to call it. **

**First of all, and I just noticed this a few days ago, does anybody else see the irony of what happened in the last story? I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did happen. I'm talking about Smart Ass's 'Dipping' and the fact that the play that Ziggy auditioned for was 'Romeo and Juliet.' I can't help but think of it being ironic. **

**Actually, I think that's the only one I have for right now. Let's get to the reviews. **

**AnonymousZGirl- Don't think that Pepper's gonna have that same reaction. I definitely love your ideas with Sassy Mouth and Petey, especially about the 'Tramp' thing. Here's another idea, how about if Petey tries to say a big word, but says something else, the Past Pepper could smirk and tell the Past Smart Ass "Huh. Maybe he is yours." You know, after the "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" episode. I just thought that would be a bit funny and cute. **

**And yes, eventually, Smart Ass will ask Pepper to marry him again, but you'll just have to wait to find out when. **

**StoriesUnleashed- Something like that will happen, but I can tell you two things right now. First of all, Doom and Loxus didn't even know each other. Second, they will be protecting someone but there's more than one and they're anything but human. **

**spannerette- Wow, it's the same reaction with every review so far. Oh, and thank you for the pearl necklace for Pepper. She really appreciates it. Anyway, it feels good to get that kind of recognition, but I think I could never be as great as J.K. Rowling. Her work was original and this is all just fanficiton. Thank you, anyway.**

**I don't own WFRR or its characters. I only own my OCs. Hope ya enjoy!**

"I can't believe this! You…you SON OF A BITCH!" Pepper's confusion transformed into a furious rage in two seconds flat as she pounced at him, knocking him off of his chair and onto the floor.

"How the hell are ya still alive?!" She hissed at him, one paw pressing down hard on his shoulder and the other wrapped tightly around his throat. "You were Dipped in the Acme Factory three months ago! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Ya _thought_ ya saw me get Dipped!" Smart Ass countered, gasping a bit as Pepper's paw grew tighter around his throat. "Let me go and I can 'detain' myself!"

"Yeah, right," she growled, but started struggling when Smart Mouth grabbed her from behind, pulling her off for his son as Peter knelt next to him, checking if he was all right.

"Jesus," Smart Ass muttered, sitting up as he rubbed his now sore throat.

"That's right, make peace with God, Smart Ass! The second I get my paws on ya again-" Pepper pushed herself out of Smart Mouth's grip.

"Pepper Petra Piper, that is enough!" Peter shouted sternly, causing his niece to jerk back and stop herself.

However, that went away quickly as she glared at the two older toons, "Why is he here, anyway? I thought I was brought here to take the case of Dr. Loxus!"

"And ya are. The _both _of ya are," Smart Mouth explained. "Actually, I should say the _six _of ya are. You two will just be leading the other four."

"What're ya talkin' about? What other four-" Pepper stopped herself, turning slowly back to Smart Ass as she asked, "The rest of the Toon Patrol never laughed themselves ta death, did they?"

"Ding ding! We got a winner, here!" Smart Ass sat back in his chair, leaning back in it. "The boys are out runnin' some errands. They'll be back soon."

"Oh, joy," Pepper sighed sitting down in an unoccupied chair. "Soon comes the smoker, the moron, the psychopath, and the _pervert_! All I can say is that you better tell Greasy ta keep his slimy paws off of me or I won't be held responsible for my actions. That is, if I even stick around."

"That's the spirit," Peter smiled, seemingly oblivious to his niece's pessimism. "Now, we better get ta work. Won't be easy trackin' down a three years escaped fugitive."

A dead silence struck the room with the intensity of a striking thunderbolt. Smart Ass and Pepper turned to them both slowly turned towards the two elder toons.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!" Smart Mouth and Peter slammed their paws over their ears, though the sheer volume of both of their voices shattered a vase and cracked the door window.

"Loxus flew the coop three years ago and ya call us to get'im _now_?!" Smart Ass snapped at them.

"We didn't know until about a week ago," Smart Mouth replied, taking his paws off of his ears. "The Asylum took it upon themselves ta detain him themselves. They told us not ta interfere."

"That's no excuse!" Pepper exclaimed. "Those bozos don't know what they're talkin' about! If they knew what they were doing, he wouldn't have broken out! Better yet, they wouldn't have needed _us _ta do in two weeks what they couldn't in ten years!"

"Which is exactly why we are sendin' you two back in," Peter said, silencing the both of them in their rant with a triumphant smirk. He knew hearing that would get them riled up, but also bring them together, in a way.

"Wouldn't we get in trouble if we did that?"

"The people at the Asylum may have a higher authority than I do, but they said not to interfere with _their _work. They said nothing about making an investigation of our own," Smart Mouth slyly smiled.

"And…you want me to work with _him_," Pepper jabbed a thumb at Smart Ass, "and his boys ta catch Dr. Loxus?"

"That's the gist of it," Peter nodded.

Pepper looked at the two of them, then at Smart Ass. She frowned and shook her head, "No."

"Come again?" Smart Mouth arched his eyebrows.

"I beg your pardon?" Her uncle furrowed his.

"No," Pepper repeated. "You have no idea what he's," She pointed at Smart Ass again, "put me through these past months! I've been threatened, kidnapped, and even hit over the head with a baseball bat! If that wasn't enough, I watch him get Dipped, he shows up in my life, and you expect me to act as if nothin' ever happened? Just like that?!"

"Pepper, come on-"

"NO!" Smart Mouth flinched back at the tone of her voice. "Find yourself another sucker! I ain't gettin' myself stabbed in the back twice!"

Pepper held her head high as she stormed out of the office. After exiting the police station, she was only half surprised when she didn't hear them coming after her. After all, what she did was quite a shock, even for them.

But she just couldn't throw herself at the opportunity of a lifetime. Not when she's already done it and nearly didn't live to tell the tale. Smart Ass just did too much to her to be able to forgive him so fast and so easily. Not after what he nearly helped to do to Toontown.

She especially couldn't do it after what Smart Ass did to her. And she wasn't even talking about the kidnapping or the betrayal. It was something much bigger than any of that.

* * *

"Ugh! Thank God today's over," Pepper gasped, letting her hair down from the tight bun that was up all day. "I don't know how today could've been so stressful!"

"Are you sure it isn't because you feel terrible about denying the case you were off to get last night?" Alicia asked, putting on her coat as the work day had ended.

"Believe me, that's _not _it," Pepper muttered to herself. Then she looked up at her assistant and asked, "Alicia? Would you mind if I asked you a hypothetical question?"

"Uh…sure, Pepper. What is it?"

Pepper sighed as she sat down on one of the loveseats of her waiting room, "Say that there's something ya _really _want to do. A project, let's say. But it involves workin' with someone ya just plain don't like. Ya don't even trust'em, but ya feel obligated ta do it anyway. What do ya do in that situation?"

Alicia blinked, and then sat down beside her, "I can't help but feel that this has to do with that case. In any case, I would try to hold my head high and go through with it as fast as I could. The sooner I'd get the project done, the sooner I would never have to see the person I didn't like ever again."

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows, thinking about the situation. It did make sense, but would it even work? Now that she knew that Smart Ass and the rest of the Toon Patrol were alive, they would probably never get out of her hair.

A knock at the door caught their attention, though it was unusual to be getting a visitor so close to the end of a workday. Just as Alicia was about to get up and answer it, Pepper held up a paw.

"Don't worry about it, Alicia. I'll get it. You go ahead and head on home. I'll see ya tomorrow."

Pepper brushed her midnight hair behind her ears as she approached the door. She took in a deep breath and opened the door.

At the door was a toon reddish-brown otter with a white belly and snout. She had shoulder-length, dark brown hair that was tied up in a braid with a few stray hairs hanging over her forehead. Her bangs were short enough just to show her bright neon green eyes.

She was dressed in a frilly, bright yellow tank top and a pleated black skirt that reached just to her knees. She smirked, shaking her head as she laughed,

"Pepsi-Cola! I don't believe it! How the hell've ya been?"

Pepper's lavender eyes widened, her jaw dropping as she gasped out, "Olive? Is that you?!"

Olive merely grinned widely, opening her arms wide with a squeal. Pepper squealed back, jumping into her arms, sharing a warm embrace.

"I don't believe this! What are ya doin' here? How did ya find me?" Pepper asked, pulling away with a large smile on her face.

"Well, let me tell ya, it was a very interesting story…"

* * *

_Olive hummed contently as she sketched the vase of lilies and roses. She was a very gifted artist and just loved to draw and paint. _

RIIING! RIIING!

_The she-otter ceased her humming, setting down her pad and pencil before walking over to the phone in her living room. Setting the phone to her ear, she greeted, _

"_Hello?"_

"Say, this wouldn't happen ta be Olive Otterman, would it?"

_Olive's face immediately fell, her ears flattening on her head as she scowled deeply, "Well, well. If it isn't Sergeant Smarty. What the hell do _you _want?"_

"I need yer help. It's Pepper."

_Her eyebrows arched in surprise, and also suspicion, "What about her? What the hell did you do to her, you ass!?"_

"Nice ta see ya haven't lost yer charm," _Olive narrowed her eyes at Smart Ass's sarcastic comment. _"I didn't do a thing ta her. She won't work with me ta get Loxus and yer the only one that can 'connive' her."

"_Maybe she finally came to her senses_. _And it's 'convince', you jackass," Olive replied, sitting down on her couch. "Why the hell should I help you, anyway?"_

"…Because I'm desperate here, Olive. And if you can't talk'er inta it, nobody can."

_Olive furrowed her eyebrows, taking the phone away from her ear as she toyed around with the idea. It was true, of all the toons in Olde Toontown, nobody hated Smart Ass more than Olive. She always despised how arrogant he was, how he flaunted and strutted around like he owned the town and the affection of every girl. _

_Frankly, the only reason she could just _tolerate_ him was because Pepper had a crush on him when they were younger. She told Pepper constantly that she could do better than him, but she couldn't sway the she-weasel. Even after Smart Ass proposed to her, Olive tried to make her reconsider, but Pepper refused. Even at the time, Olive had to admit that for a short while, Smart Ass was really straightening himself up. _

_And then it all went downhill. Smart Ass went corrupt, Pepper disappeared without a trace, and Olive hasn't seen her since. _

_Letting out a deep sigh, Olive put the phone back to her ear, "Tell me where she lives and I'll have a talk with her."_

* * *

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows at her childhood friend. Smart Ass actually worked up the gall to call _Olive_ to talk to her?

"So, either Smart Ass is starting to lose it, or he really is desperate. I hear that it was Dr. Loxus that got out. And three years ago, too. What the hell is up with that?" Olive shook her head, taking a seat down on one of the loveseats.

Pepper sighed, sitting next to her and said, "I know that it's a serious matter. Dr. Loxus is probably the biggest threat to all of toon kind. I should be all over it, but I just don't know if I can do it with Smart…with _him _again."

"And I don't blame you. If what I've heard from your uncle and his dad is true, I'm surprised I haven't stopped by his place and kicked his ass all over the place," Olive casually said, crossing her legs as she leaned back.

Pepper picked up her head quickly, turning it to the she-otter, "Ya mean he actually told them what he did in New Toontown? How the hell is he still alive? I woulda thought that his dad would've beaten the tar outta him!"

"His dad thought so, too. Then Smart Ass told him that whatever his dad would do to him couldn't possibly be worse than what _you _would do to him if you found out he was alive," Olive said, smiling to herself at the thought.

"I did. I tackled him and would've strangled him if it weren't for Smart Mouth pullin' me off of him last night," Pepper told her. "I can't believe he would do this ta me."

"Well, believe it, honey. It never would've surprised me one bit," Olive then sighed, sitting back up straight. "Look, I know that Smart Ass and I have never really seen eye to eye, and that he hasn't suffered enough for what he's done, but I do admit that this is pretty serious. Pepper, if they haven't been able to catch him before, who says they can catch him now? As much as I hate to say it, only you and Smart Ass can get the job done."

"I know," Pepper said finally, leaning back on the loveseat. "I know. And then after that-"

"You never have to see him again. You can move on and forget about him!" Pepper shook her head.

"That's the thing, Olive. I _can't_ do that. Not now. Not after what's happened."

"What? What happened?" Olive asked, furrowing her eyebrows at the she-weasel.

Pepper looked at her, her lavender eyes hesitant and scared as she said,

"Olive, I'm pregnant."


	3. Psychotic Delivery

**Wow! Chapter three! I am so excited that this story is getting off to a great start! **

**AnonymousZGirl- I'm sorry, but I can't tell the gender of the baby. But anyway, I do love those ideas, especially about the name Smart Alec. Genius! And, of course you guys can leave ideas here. That's what I like about people leaving reviews. If you guys have ideas that you think will make the story better, I wanna hear them. I might not use all of them, but I still appreciate the ideas. **

**spannerette- Yup. Pepper Piper is with kit. Don't be too hard on Smart Ass. He didn't mean for it to happen, but you have to admit it. He **_**did **_**start it. And oh, no! The clones aren't coming out until much later in the story. The reason Smart Ass and the rest of the Toon Patrol even surprised is completely different. **

**StoriesUnleashed- Ewww! Pepper wouldn't even consider kissing Greasy, let alone doing the horizontal tango with him! I'm more than certain that Smart Ass is the father? Why? Because I'm the author!**

**I don't own WFRR or its characters. I only own my OCs. Enjoy!**

Olive's neon green eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and her jaw literally dropped to the couch. Pepper lowered her head, turning it away as if in shame.

"What…did you just say?" the she-otter asked, sounding as shocked as can be.

Pepper sighed, not looking at her, "I'm pregnant, okay?! I'm with kit, here!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down!" Olive put a comforting paw on Pepper's shoulder. "When the hell did it happen, anyway? Who's the father?"

"About three months ago," Pepper replied, putting her face in her paws.

A look of realization came across Olive's face, which quickly turned to utter fury as she growled out, "It was him, wasn't it? Did he really knock you up?! I'll KILL HIM!"

"Olive…"

"No! After all you've done for him, after all the years you gave to him, he does this to ya? And he doesn't even acknowledge you or his unborn child!"

"Olive-"

"Wait till I get my paws on'im! That arrogant, selfish, back stabbing-"

"OLIVE!" Pepper bellowed at her, making her jump back in shock. The she-weasel's lavender eyes were flaring as she shouted, "God damn it, just shut up for a minute! He never rejected because he doesn't even know!"

"Well, why the hell not?!" Olive shouted back. "Pepper, you know I can't wail on him unless I have a good reason! _This _is a good reason! I mean, come on! I bet he took advantage of you whenever he…you know!"

"Yes, and you'd be wrong!" Pepper snapped at her. She looked away and said, "I…I let him do this to me. I don't know what the hell came over me. I was mad at him…and then he took me in his arms like he used to and…I just caved in…"

"Wait a minute!" Olive looked at her in a serious manner. "You said that this happened about three months ago?"

"Three months, about to go on four. Why?"

"How long is the period of time for weasels until the kit's born?"

Pepper seemed hesitant in answering, resting her paws over her snow white stomach. She smiled a little, tracing circles over it with her clawed fingers, just now noticing that her belly was just a little bit bigger than usual. That was the nice thing about being a toon animal: the girls don't get that big, so it's actually hard to tell if they're pregnant or not. Well, except the hormones, the mood swings-

"Pepper. How long?" Olive pressed, making Pepper flinch and sigh.

"About five months…"

Olive's eyebrows arched and she blinked her eyes as she asked, "You mean to tell me that you're gonna give birth in, like, six weeks, and that bozo of a future father doesn't even KNOW IT?!"

"That's about the gist of it," Pepper shrugged casually.

"Pepper! I know there are some things that can be kept a secret, but I don't think that this one can wait," Olive said, patting Pepper's stomach. "One way or another, he's gonna find out."

"I know!" Pepper raked her fingers through her midnight hair. "I want to tell him, but…I just don't know how. And especially with those boys with him…God only knows what kind of snide comments they would have ready when _they _find out. Hell, they probably don't even know we were together at one time!"

"Oh, yeah. That reminds me," Olive said, reaching into her skirt pocket, pulling out an envelope. "I think it was one of his boys who told me to give this to you. He was strange lookin'. Spiky fur, crazy eyes-"

"That's Psycho, give me that," Pepper took the envelope, tearing it open and pulling out a note.

"_In case ya change yer mind. We could really use your help. Smarty," _Pepper read off, pulling out a business card with it.

Suddenly, there was a rattling coming from the front door. The two gilrs looked over and saw the mail slot shaking violently.

"What the hell…?" Pepper narrowed her eyes at it, completely baffled at whatever was going on.

It suddenly flew open, spitting out a rushing blur of brown and white. They watched as it bounced madly around the room, hitting off the wall and floors and making it a complete mess. Finally, the blur skidded onto the floor, somersaulting before landing on his stomach right in front of the two.

Pepper shook her head as she couldn't believe her eyes, "Psycho?"

Psycho picked himself up, shaking his head yet smiling widely as usual. He blinked his blue eyes with yellow and white swirling in them before giggling, covering his head with his straightjacket covered arms. He then rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Pepper's ankles while nuzzling his face into her stomach.

"Baby boss!" He cooed, giggling lightly.

Slowly, the girls looked at each other with shocked looks on their faces. Okay, so now the cat's out of the bag for one of the Toon Patrol.

"Um…do you think we could crash here tonight?" Olive asked. "It's getting kinda late."

Pepper sighed as she gently pushed Psycho on the snout, shoving him away as she replied, "Sure. I got an empty guest flat up on the third floor. You and Psycho can sleep up there. If ya want, you two can stay with me and my roommate for dinner before goin' ta bed."

* * *

It was right to say that dinner was rather awkward. Not only did three of the four people at the table know the "big secret," but Ziggy also knew that Psycho was a part of the Toon Patrol. It's not that he didn't trust Pepper when she said he was safe, but that didn't change the fact that he was unpredictable.

So, the dinner was awkward, but above all uneventful.

It was about midnight and almost everyone in the building was sleeping. Pepper was down in her office, sitting her chair and drumming her clawed fingers on her desk as she held the business card in the other paw. She had been staring at it for a good twenty minutes.

_Dr. Loxus has been at large for three years now. Who knows what he's managed to accomplish in that time. Hell, who knows what twisted concoction he's got brewin' wherever the hell he is, _Pepper thought to herself. _Smarty and I were the only ones able ta catch him. I guess it wouldn't hurt o work with him ta do this. Besides, I can figure out what happened with him and the rest of the Toon Patrol back then. _

She sighed, then sucked in a breath and picked up the phone. Looking at the card, she dialed the number and waited. The phone rang. And rang, until finally, someone picked up.

"_Duh, hello?"_

Pepper laughed lightly, greeting the answerer, "Hello, Stupid."

"_Hey! How do ya know my name?" _

Pepper heard some shuffling in the background, followed by a "Give me that!" before she heard someone talk to her.

"_Toon Patrol, how may we help you?" _

Pepper's face immediately scrunched up in disgust, "Ew. Put somebody else on."

She heard Greasy chuckle and say, _"_Señorita! _How wonderful it is to hear your sweet voice again! I'm surprised you're not asleep, dreaming of me." _

Pepper cringed in revulsion, "Not even in _your _dreams, sleaze ball! Is your boss there?"

"_Oh, don't play hard to get, baby. He doesn't have to know we're talking."_

"I don't give a damn about what happens to you if he does find out! PUT. HIM. ON! NOW!" Pepper boomed, shaking the bookshelves and framed pictures in her office.

"_Reow! Hehe. Still as frisky as ever_," she heard Greasy laugh before he yelled, "_Hey, boss! That Pepper Piper's on the phone and she wants you!" _

Pepper winced as she heard a loud thud on the other side of the phone. It was another minute before she heard Smart Ass answer.

"_Ya still there, doll?" _

"I'm here. I wanted ta tell ya that I'm in. I'll help with findin' Dr. Loxus."

"_Heh. I guess callin' Olive _was _a good idea, after all."_

"Don't get your hopes up, there," Pepper stopped him. "I'm just helping with the case. I think we should start at the Asylum. Figure out how he escaped in the first place. Ya know how those bozos think they know everything and miss any significant details."

"_Yer the one with the ideas, doll. Done. We'll meet there in the morning. Say, nine-ish?" _Smart Ass asked.

"Sure. I'll bring Olive and Psycho with me when we do. I tried ta talk Olive outta comin', but she just doesn't listen ta me," Pepper nodded.

"_So _that's _where Psycho 'wondered' off to. 'kay, doll. See ya in the mornin'. Night." _

"Good night," Pepper said, hanging up the phone. She leaned back in her chair and sighed. "So close, Smarty. You were so close ta gettin' that word right."

* * *

Pepper winced and shook a bit as the two weasels and she-otter approached the gates of the Olde Toontown Asylum. However, it wasn't the place itself that scared her. It was what constantly happened that frightened her.

A flash of thunder followed by a loud clap of thunder shook the sky, making Pepper jump back and shake even harder. Olive looked at her, trying to hide the unbelievable look on her face.

"Some things just never change, do they?" she asked, making the she-weasel turn and glare at her. Psycho merely wrapped his arms around Pepper's stomach and pushed her forward towards the Asylum.

The Olde Toontown Asylum. If it had to be described as anything, it would be like something that came out of a horror movie. It was just a giant, square, windowless building on the top of a high cliff. It was also the center of Olde Toontown's lightning storms. Typical disturbing cartoon logic for such a horrid place.

"What're we even doing here this early, anyway?" Olive asked, keeping at their side as they walked up the hill. "I thought we were meeting your dope of an ex-fiancé and the rest of his chain gang at nine. We're like fifteen minutes early!"

"I wanna get a head start on examining Dr. Loxus's cell. A lot of the stricter higher ups of the place won't be here until later. That, and I wanna get it done before Greasy tries to get his paws all over me."

"I'm sorry…Who?" Olive stopped the two, giving her friend a strange look.

"Believe me, looking the way you do right now, you'll find out as soon as he walks into the same room as you," Pepper shook her head, going on her way to the front doors of the asylum.

The inside was even duller than the outside, even for a black and white toon prison. Not much activity was going on and that was to be expected. The three walked up to the front desk, where a toon skunk sat there, feet on the desk and a hat tipped over his eyes.

"Excuse me?" Pepper tapped the desk, making the skunk jerk a bit. He lifted his hat and gave the two females a groggy look, but his eyes widened at the sight of Psycho.

"You come here ta commit this guy?" He asked, gesturing to the crazy-looking weasel.

Olive shook her head, "If we wanted to do that, we would've left'im on the front step and never look back. Ain't that right, ya little crazy?"

Psycho giggled and nodded as Olive patted him on the head. It didn't look like he minded the minor abuse (or that even he noticed), but didn't move from his spot.

"Anyway, we're here to investigate the cell that once held Dr. Foxus Loxus," Pepper said showing her badge to the skunk guard.

"Third floor, end of the main hall," he nonchalantly replied, pushing the hat back over his eyes.

"Wow, that was easy enough," Olive whispered as the entered the elevator.

Psycho let go of Pepper, giggling as he pressed all of the buttons on the elevator. It was only a five floor building, but still, it was a bit annoying and yet so adorable.

"Thank you, Psycho," Pepper said, the elevator doors closing and Psycho standing completely still at Pepper's right side with Olive on her left. "Like I said, not many of the guards care so early in the morning."

The doors opened on the second floor, and then closed to go up another floor. Finally, the doors opened on the third floor. They stepped off and walked forward, being sure to be cautious as they walked down the hall. Psycho wrapped his arms around Pepper once again, as if to guard her from any danger.

"This place gives me the creeps," Olive whispered, as if any loud noise could set off the occupants of the cells they were walking past.

"Keep walkin', keep your voice low, and don't make eye contact," Pepper whispered back.

"You sure know a lot about this place."

"Me and Smarty came here a lot when we still worked together. Technically, he taught me those things and they actually still work!" Pepper shook her head, as if it were unbelievable.

"One of the few things he did right, I bet," Olive commented.

Pepper rolled her lavender eyes, "Please. Save the snide remarks about Smarty for when he actually gets here."

"Fair enough," Olive shrugged, stopping as they finally stood in front of the cell that once held one of Olde Toontown's most dastardly criminal minds. It was a door that had a series of complicated locks, but were undone considering there was no occupant anymore.

"All right," Pepper whispered to them. "Let's do this."

* * *

"Ugh. This place reeks," Wheezy shuddered as the four weasels entered the asylum. Much like Pepper, Smart Ass was the only one not deterred by the intimidation of the place.

"Maybe is because _you _come into the place," Greasy snickered, acting as if the place didn't scare him.

"Shut it, ya mugs!" Smart Ass barked at them. "We're here on business."

"Sorry, boys. We're not takin' visitors at this time," a toon Rottweiler said, standing next to the desk where the skunk guard was sitting, this time more professional.

The Rottweiler was a black and white toon, like most citizens in Olde Toontown. This was Warden Phil Stickson. In very simple words, he was a cocky, stubborn tyrant of a warden that despised anyone who tried to interfere with his work. In fact, he hated Smart Ass and Pepper the most out of everyone that used to come in.

"Hey! Warden Stickson, how've ya been?"

"Don't play that game with me, ya wretched little rat!" Warden Stickson literally barked at the Sergeant. "I've heard about your daddy's little scheme and I'm tellin' you now, nobody's gettin' past me. We can handle it ourselves."

"The boss's a weasel, not a rat!" Stupid called out, only for Wheezy to slap a paw over the dumb weasel's snout.

"Oh yeah? Ya got any leads? Any 'destructions'?" Smart Ass smirked.

Warden Stickson blinked at him, "That's 'deductions'. At least I don't mess up my words, ya malapropistic runt! I aint' about ta let an uncouth rodent handle a criminal like Dr. Foxus Loxus."

Smart Ass snarled, feeling his trigger finger become antsier by the moment. Not only did the warden hate his guts, but he hated the warden's even more.

The skunk suddenly tensed, looking at the warden worriedly from the corner of his eyes. Smart Ass took notice of this and harshly asked, "What the hell's the matter with ya?"

"Um…Warden?" The skunk hesitantly said. "Actually, three toons came by about half an hour ago. Two weasels and an otter, one of'em had a badge and asked to investigate Loxus's old cell…"

"WHAT?" The warden bellowed, rattling the room and forcing the weasels to cover their ears. "I don't even need to ask who the hell one of those weasels are! That squeamish, pathetic mouse, Pepper Piper!"

"Keep yer snide comments ta yerself, ya overweight mutt!" Smart Ass boomed at the warden.

"That's it! Marks, come with me! We'll get that mouse and toss the rest of her chain gang outta here!" Warden Stickson ordered, the skunk scrambling to follow him to the elevator.

Smart Ass pulled Stupid over and whispered something into his ear. Stupid looked like he was concentrating really hard as he listened. He brightened up and nodded as the lead weasel pulled away.

"All right, third floor," Marks replied, the doors to the elevator opening up. As they stepped onto the elevator, Stupid rushed in with them, laughing as he pressed all the buttons on the elevator, but not before hitting the floor for the basement.

"Ya heard'im, boys. Third floor! Let's go!" Smart Ass ordered, pushing the door open for the stairs, Wheezy and Greasy following closely behind.

By the time they got to the third floor, the doors to the elevator hadn't even opened yet.

"Which cell are we lookin' for?" Wheezy asked, looking around for a possibly open door.

…

"Damn it," Smart Ass muttered to himself. "Look for any unlocked doors!"

The three spread out, trying out the doors, though none of them were unlocked.

"C'mon, boys," Warden Stickson said, coming out with three burly bobcat guards. "We've got pests to get rid of."

"Duh, sorry Boss," Stupid shamefully looked down as his untied tennis shoes.

"You two stay with me. Andrews, go get that Piper girl out of that cell!"

The bobcat named Andrews nodded and rushed down the main hall. He opened the door and just barely left it open as he entered.

"What the hell is your problem?" Smart Ass growled at him, he and the other three weasels being surrounded by the warden and the two guards.

"I have nothing against the law. I _am _the law, boy," Warden Stickson snarled at him. "The sooner you accept that, the better off y'all-"

"YOOOW!"

All heads snapped towards the cell in which they heard the pained scream. There was struggling, cursing, and loud thuds coming from Dr. Loxus's old cell. The door to his cell burst open and the bobcat was flailing, clawing at a white and brown form clinging onto his back.

"Bad kitty! Bad kitty!" Psycho cried out, sinking his teeth into the guard's shoulders, making him cry out in agony.

"Call him off! Call him off!" The guard called out, swatting and clawing at the crazy weasel.

"Back off and let us finish here if ya want us ta call off our associate," Smart Ass smirked, leaning back against the wall.

Warden Stickson narrowed his eyes but looked to his distressful employee. He growled out, "Fine! Do what you want and get out! Now call off that beast!"

Smart Ass let out a sharp, loud whistle, making Psycho release his jaws and jump off the guard. But not before kicking the guard in the shin, making him yelp and grab his knee.

"Pleasure doin' business with ya, Stickson," Smart Ass chuckled, brushing past the warden and his guards with his men following closely behind.

"A nice way to start the morning, eh, Boss?" Greasy snickered, turning back to see the injured bobcat, grabbing his shoulder where Psycho had bitten into.

Smart Ass suddenly stopped as he and Pepper came chest to chest with each other. Olive pushed the two apart and greeted,

"Good to see you _Dumb _Ass," she smiled mockingly. Yes, she _really _didn't like him. And frankly, he didn't care much for her. He sometimes wondered why he put up with her.

"Ooh, a feisty one, eh, Boss?" Greasy smirked widely, his amber eyes lustfully looking Olive up, down, and basically all around. He boldly stepped forward, taking her paw and kissing the back of it, "_Hola, me querida_. I'm Greasy. And, who may you be?"

Olive furrowed her eyebrows, her neon green eyes staying on him, then down to her paw, before looking over at Pepper. The she-weasel merely put a finger up to the side of her throat, then swiftly bringing it across her chest while shaking her head. Olive nodded and looked back at Greasy, taking her paw away as she replied,

"Not interested. I'm sorry, but I've only got enough bashing material for _Jack _Ass over here," she pointed over to Smart Ass, who didn't really pay here any mind.

This greatly surprised the rest of the Toon Patrol, especially with how temperamental he can be. They did see a flash of annoyance in his eyes, but he kept silent all the same.

Pepper looked towards the guards, gave out a whistle and asked, "Hey. You guys ever figure out how Dr. Loxus got out?"

"No. Actually, we never figured that out," Marks replied, scratching his head.

"MARKS!" Warden Stickson barked at the skunk, making him flinch back and tremble with fear.

Pepper shook her head, "Then you guys may wanna look at this."

She walked back into the cell, the rest following inside. The cell was as simple as can be. A bed in one corner, a desk in another, and a bathroom, but that was it.

"Well, how did he get out? This cell looks tighter than air. I'm surprised a fella ain' suffocated in here, yet," Wheezy said as he observed the area.

"Really? Maybe we should stick you in here. See how long _you _last," Olive remarked, giving the smoking weasel a look.

"Anyway," Pepper harshly interrupted before anyone could make another remark. "It looks like that old gray fox was hard at work engineering his escape. Observe."

Pepper walked over to the bed and, using two sharp claws, she dug them into the floor. Their faces turned to surprise when she pulled at the floor, bringing it and the bed up with it.

"_Hijo de puta_," Greasy muttered as he, Smart Ass and Olive stepped around the lifted bed to look. It was a trap door.

"I don't believe it. How did you figure that out?" Marks asked.

Pepper smirked as she replied, "I've been in here a couple of times. All the furniture is bolted to the floor. It'd be the last place anyone would think ta look for a trap door."

"Wow," Olive smiled, crossing her arms and shaking her head. "First these two do in two weeks what you couldn't in ten years, now Pepper finds an escape route in five minutes when you couldn't in three years! How are you guys not out of the job yet?"


	4. The Petrified Gulch

**Yay! Chapter Four! I'm so sorry it took so long to update, but it was a bit of work to deal with on this chapter. I hope ya guys like it!**

**AnonymousZGirl- Oh. I see. Well…I'm not sure if I'm up to a task like that. At least, not yet. It would be a privilege to write a story to honor a fallen writer if that's the case, but I would need time to think it over. I'll admit it, I'm a good writer, but I'm no miracle worker. If the rumors are true, which they may not be, I'll keep her in my prayers. **

**Anyway, I'm glad you like Psycho being overprotective. I hope that reading this chapter will cheer you up. **

**StoriesUnleashed- First of all, read the first chapter of your fanfic and I loved it! I can't wait for the next update. Anyway, yes, Psycho is looking out for the 'baby boss' cause AnonymousZGirl thought it would be cute and funny and I did too. So, there ya have it. **

**And I actually do like the idea of an old friend of Smart Ass and Pepper showing up to help them. **

**spannerette- I'm so sorry for your loss. I'll be sure to mention her in my prayers tonight. Anyway, yes, Pepper will give birth in six weeks give or take. It might be less. And you are right, in the last story, Smart Ass was the first to put the moves on Pepper when he had her kidnapped (or would it be toonnapped?). **

**I don't own WFRR or its characters. I only own my OCs. Hope ya enjoy the chapter!**

"Okay. We know how he escaped. Now we need to find a trail," Pepper rubbed her chin as she and the rest of the group exited the asylum in a hurry. Warden Stickson already was in a foul mood on a regular basis, but that day he had been much worse. "I think we should go to his old hideout. Maybe he stopped there and picked some things up."

"Why don't we just go there and get'im?" Wheezy asked as he pushed open the gates.

"Because Dr. Lox isn't stupid, stupid!" Olive slapped him over the head as she walked past the gates behind Pepper and Smart Ass.

"Hey! He's not stupid! I'm Stupid!" Stupid objected, jabbing a thumb proudly to himself as he walked behind her.

"Of course you are," Olive patted his head. "Only an idiot would go back to the same hideout and stay there!"

"We did that," Greasy commented, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I rest my case," the she-otter replied blankly, completely ignoring the Puerto Rican weasel's advances.

"All right, that's it! Olive, can it with the bashing! Greasy, put another paw on her, I'll break your neck! And you," Pepper bumped Smart Ass's shoulder with hers. "You're the boss! Control your boys!"

Smart Ass sighed heavily and looked over his shoulder, "Greasy, take yer paws off the otter! Wheezy and Stupid, shut up! Psycho, yer okay."

Psycho, who had his arms wrapped loyally around Pepper's arm, panted like a dog and nodded.

"Why is _he _off the hook?" Wheezy asked, angrily gesturing to the psychotic weasel.

"Cause I'm the boss! And he's the only one of ya _not_ gettin' on my nerves!" Smart Ass snapped. "Besides, he aint' doin' nothin'…what the hell is he doin' anyway? Why's he all 'buddly' with ya all of a sudden?"

Pepper tensed a bit as she felt his eyes rest on her. She merely shrugged, which the lead weasel didn't think was a good enough answer. However, he shook his head and got off the subject.

Smart Ass slipped into the driver's seat of the Toon Patrol paddy wagon and Psycho pushed Pepper into the passenger's seat up front. After he jumped in, he closed the door right behind him.

"Hey! What the hell is she doin' up front?" Wheezy complained from the outside of the car.

"Just shut up and get in the back!" The Toon Patrol winced at the volume of their boss's voice and trudged to the back of the van. After everyone was present and accounted for, Smart Ass started up the car before driving away. Driving towards The Petrified Gulch not too far outside of Olde Toontown, where they had first discovered the lair of the nefarious Dr. Loxus Foxus.

* * *

_Smart Ass and Pepper, both around the age of twenty-two and twenty-three, looked down into the dry, narrow ravine where no light could reach down. Granted, it was nighttime, but it must've been very deep for them to see no indication of there being a bottom. _

"_I'll go first," Smart Ass whispered as he turned on the light of his helmet, carefully stepping down into the giant crack. He was sure to set his feet down on the rocks before loosening his grip at all. Otherwise it would be a long way down. _

_Pepper went into her bag and pulled out her own coal miner's helmet, setting it on her head and turning on the light before following him. The two climbed down for at the very least an hour before landing upon more solid ground. With the help of their helmets, they were able to find a path leading further into the ravine. _

"_Ya know, Smarty?" Pepper whispered, though her voice did echo out anyway. "Maybe the cops knew where ta find Dr. Lox, but they were just too big to fit through the ravine."_

_Smart Ass couldn't do a thing to suppress the chuckle for that comment, "Maybe. I mean, come on. This place is the most 'desserted' place in all of Olde Toontown! How could they expect a crook _not _ta crawl down here?"_

"_I guess they think a mad scientist wouldn't go anywhere without technology." _

"_Then how the hell could there be a cable here?!" _

_Pepper stopped and turned to him suddenly, "A cable? Where?" _

"_Right there!" Smart Ass pointed ahead to a thick, dark cable running through the gulch. This meant that somewhere, something was getting power. The only problem was which way would they need to go?_

"_Okay," Pepper reached into her bag, grabbing two walkie-talkies and handing one to him, "We'll split up and whenever one of us see's somethin', we'll have this handy ta get a message through." _

"_Ya sure yer up ta this, doll? It's gonna be dangerous."_

"_I can handle myself, thank you," Pepper playfully scoffed. "So, how about you go right and I'll go left." _

"_If ya say so, Pepper. Just be careful," Smart Ass pulled out his revolver as he made his way to the right. _

_Pepper rolled her eyes and started off to the left path of the cable. From the looks of it, the cable went on forever and ever. That was, of course, until the cable stopped at a large rock wall. _

"_Smarty. I think I got somethin' here. Over," Pepper whispered into the walkie-talkie. The second she let go of the button, she got a response._

"_Got it, doll. I'm on my way. Over and out."_

"_There's gotta be something on the other side of this wall. Maybe there's a secret entrance here," she felt along the wall, trying to find a hidden switch or trigger of some sort. _

"_OWW!" She suddenly yelped as someone from behind grabbed her forearm and ponytail. Her helmet was thrown off and was quickly replaced by a sack. She couldn't see a thing as she was roughly escorted to only God knows where. _

_By the sound of it, a heavy door was opened, she was pushed in, and then was closed. _

"_Hey, boss. Caught this pretty little thing snoopin' around outside," she heard a rough voice speak next to her. The one who had apprehended her, no doubt. _

"_Lift the sack, you buffoon," a smooth, male British voice snapped. "I want a good look at this one."_

_She felt a hand grasp the top of the bag and lifted up off of her head. She closed her eyes at the sudden brightness of the room…or whatever it was. Once her lavender eyes adjusted, she was greeted by a great surprise. _

_It was an entire laboratory inside a cavern, by the looks of it. Machines, mainly chambers, were scattered and in working condition. Research and models were all over the place, definitely making whoever made them worked hard and long on them. _

"_Hmm. A weasel. How…interesting." _

_Looking in front of her was a desk. And at that desk was the criminal himself. Dr. Foxus Loxus. He was an old toon fox that kept his black and white colors, thinking that coloring was for the intellectually impaired. He wore a fancy suit that did nothing to hide his long tail and a bowler's hat, though that was all she could tell from him being sat at the desk being indulged in his work. _

"_Tell me, my dear, just what did you think you were doing down here? A lady shouldn't be wandering around in such a dangerous place," Dr. Loxus asked, not taking his eyes off of the work on his desk. _

"_Lookin' for _you_. You've been hidin' from the law for ten years, now. Ya might as well turn yourself in, Dr. Lox," Pepper answered calmly, narrowing her eyes at the old fox. _

_She saw his eyebrows arch as he stopped his work, slowly lifting his head to look at her. Dr. Loxus set down his pen and pushed himself away from the desk, standing up as he did. He grabbed his cane and stalked away from his desk, not taking his eyes off of the she-weasel. _

_Pepper tried to keep her cool as he slowly approached her. She kept her eyes as hard as his were as he drew ever closer. He stopped about three feet away from her, using his cane and lifting her chin as if he were observing her. _

_His eyes brightened and he chuckled as he said, "Well, well. I recognize you, now. You're that 'Witty Weasel' of the Olde Toontown Police Force. I was wondering why they haven't sent you sooner. Tell me, what is your true name and where is that…erm, charming partner of yours?"_

"_Both of'em are none of your damn business, but if you must know, the name's Pepper Piper. That's all you're gettin' outta me," Pepper defiantly turned her head away. _

"_Well, I'm sure that your skills are as exceptional as I've heard, but your vocabulary leaves a lot to be desired," the British fox turned away from her in a snobbish manner, which only ticked her off more. "Bruce. Take our uninvited guest and be sure that she's well…taken care of." _

"_Right," said the large, toon badger as he pulled roughly on Pepper's forearm and dragged her away. She didn't know what he was going to do exactly, but she did know what 'taken care of' implies. _

_She was forced down a corridor and through a door, where there was nothing but a cliff. Bruce pushed her forward while letting go of her, nearly sending her off the edge. Pepper sharply turned around, but was faced with the muzzle of a revolver. _

"_Time ta go bye-bye," he sneered, pushing her onto her stomach and pinning her down with his foot. Her heart pounded wildly as she felt the muzzle press right between the shoulders where her heart was. _

CLICK!

_Bruce froze at the click and the feel of a muzzle being pressed right at his temple. _

"_Ya better get off of her in the next three seconds or I'll blow yer damned, ugly mug all over this nice cliff," Smart Ass hissed into his ear. _

_Bruce slowly lifted his foot off of Pepper's back and dropped his revolver. Pepper got up and rushed to Smart Ass's side as his finger went to the trigger. _

"_Look, I don't want any trouble. It's just business, kid," Bruce said, trying to keep his voice calm. _

"_Ya sure got a twisted idea of business, 'bagger'. Take a tip from me, pal, don't treat a lady like the dirt ya step on," Smart Ass brought back his revolver and slammed the butt against the badger's temple, knocking him out cold._

* * *

"PEPPER!"

The she-weasel shook her head, turning and glaring at Smart Ass for shaking her roughly.

"Get yer head outta the 'shrouds'! We're here!" he snapped.

"It's 'clouds', not 'shrouds'!" Pepper snapped back at him. "Sheesh!"

Psycho got out of his seat, leaving the door open for Pepper to come out before closing it again. Like Pepper had said before, Psycho had to be the most gentlemanly of the bunch.

"Are ya tellin' me there's a whole hideout in that crack?" Wheezy asked, reaching into his vest and pulling out three cigarettes. Just as he got a match lit, a shrill, panicked voice shrieked,

"NO SMOKE!"

A blur of white and brown pounced onto Wheezy, sending the two in a dust cloud of hitting, clawing, and apparently biting. The four weasels and the she-otter watched with mild interest and great confusion at the brawl. Soon enough, however, it was over.

When the cloud cleared, Wheezy was flat on his back, groaning and coughing. Psycho stood above him with the unlit cigarettes in his sleeve-covered paws. He was giving the smoking weasel a harsh glare as he exclaimed,

"No smoking!"

With that, he threw the cigarettes on the ground and madly jumped up and down on them. Everyone's eyes kept moving up and down in sync with the crazy weasel until he decided to stop. He wiped his feet on the petrified dirt and walked away, but what caused most of the eyebrows to arch even higher was when Psycho wrapped his arms around Pepper's waist, almost protectively.

Everyone's eyes went away from Psycho and straight to Pepper. Her lavender eyes scanned over everyone else nervously, except for Olive, whose look told that she knew exactly why Psycho acted the way he did.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer," the gray she-weasel finally snapped. She lowered her gaze and looked all around, "We definitely came to the right place. Somebody was here."

This caused everyone to look down around their feet. Footprints were scattered going either in or out of the large crack. They were small, yet a bit small to be anything large.

"Don't look too old, though. Only a couple hours," Smart Ass said, his golden eyes still roaming over the footprints. "There're four of'em."

Pepper arched an eyebrow at him, but had a slight smile on her face as he said, "That's right. I still remember how ta track."

"How do ya know there was only four of them?" Olive crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows at the lead weasel.

"Because _mi querida_, the boss knows everything," Greasy smirked, once again wrapping an arm around the otter's waist. Olive rolled her eyes, starting to get irritated at the perverted weasel's unwanted advances.

"YOOW!" Greasy suddenly pushed himself away from Olive, cursing as he grasped onto what looked like a bright green vine. Upon closer examination, however, they saw that it was a snake. Greasy desperately tried to get it off as it coiled around his arm, the snake's fangs still buried deep in it.

Pepper shook her head and approached him as she calmly chided, "Jade! How did you get out?"

She grasped the neck of the viper, gently removing the fangs and uncoiling her from Greasy's arm. She hissed at Greasy, her slitted, light brown eyes flaring with anger before she went silent.

"Ya okay, Greasy?" Smart Ass asked as the green-dressed weasel grasped his wound.

"_Si_, I'm fine," Greasy panted, sweat starting to form above his brow. He suddenly tensed and said, "_Buenos noches_."

These were his last words before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed flat on his back. Almost everyone looked in shock at him before turning back to Pepper for an explanation. Stupid was…well, being Stupid. Psycho was standing over the unconscious Greasy, nudging him with his foot and giggling when the Puerto Rican weasel groaned.

"Sorry. This is Jade. I got her not too long after the Judge Doom incident. I thought it would be nice to have PDS. Or as I like to call it, a GDS," Pepper explained, holding up the green viper.

"PDS? GDS? What are those?" Olive asked.

Pepper smirked, "My 'Pervert Defense System' or my 'Greasy Defense System.' He did inspire me ta do it in the first place."

Wheezy looked over at his fallen comrade before looking back at her and asked, "He ain't dead, right?"

The gray she-weasel shook her head, "Jade's venom doesn't kill. Greasy will just sleep it off for a few hours. Say goodbye, Jade. You're goin' back in the bag."

Jade glared at the unconscious Greasy, sticking her forked tongue at him distastefully before slithering out of Pepper's grip and back into the bronze bag. Pepper closed the bag and picked it up.

"Anyway, there _weren't _four of'em, there _are _four of'em. They're still here," Smart Ass observed.

"How can you tell?" Olive asked.

"The freshest tracks lead _inta _the Petrified Gulch. That means whoever's here didn't leave yet."

Pepper turned to Olive and asked, "Olive, why don't ya stay here and look after Greasy while we investigate?"

"Why me?!" the she-otter whined.

"Because we have more experience doing this stuff. That, and we can't just leave Greasy here all alone. Believe me, this isn't a place ya want ta be alone in," Pepper explained, reaching into her vest and pulling out her pistol.

"Here. Ya need this more than I do," she tossed the gun to the she-otter, who hastily caught it in her paws.

"Are you crazy?! I don't know how to use this thing!"

"Shoulda thought that through, Ms. 'All There is to it is Pointing and Shooting'," Pepper smirked at the irritation on her face. "C'mon, guys. It's already gonna take a while ta get to the bottom."

"Ya heard her, boys. Let's go," Smart Ass waved a hand for the rest of the Toon Patrol to follow.

Pepper brought out a flashlight and was the first to enter the ravine when she heard a whisper,

"Psst! Doll!"

Turning back, she heard Smart Ass whisper, "Why the hell did ya get a snake, of all things?"

Pepper barely suppressed a chuckle as she replied, "I should thank ya, Smarty. Pepper _Viper _really was an inspiration."

For the rest of the way down, Smart Ass kept completely silent.

* * *

Smart Ass pushed open the door and the weasels were immediately hit with the odor of dust and oil. They cautiously stepped into the laboratory, feeling almost as if a trap was waiting there for them.

"Okay, everyone got a light?" Pepper whispered. The flashing of three flashlights including her own answered the question.

"Everybody armed?" Smart Ass whispered and he was answered with the clicking of Wheezy's tommy gun, the _zing!_ of Psycho's razor blade, and the whacking of Stupid's bat over his own head.

"All right, let's split up, then. Wheezy, yer with me. Stupid and Psycho, you two go with Pepper."

The two groups split up, Smart Ass's going to the left and Pepper's going to the right. The whole place seemed completely deserted of any research of any kind. In fact, the only things that seemed to remain where the machines.

"This place sure is creepy," Pepper whispered, Psycho covering her front and Stupid covering the back. The two hardly seemed interested in investigating, but kept a vigilant eye out for danger.

Pepper froze and stepped back a bit as she saw a reddish-brown blur rush between one of the machines. Psycho noticed as well and glared at the place, dropping onto all fours and growling menacingly much like a rabid dog. The swirls in his eyes were rapidly changing as he grew angrier and more protective.

The gray she-weasel patted his head to calm him down and slowly made her way over to where she saw the blur hide. Before she could make it to the spot, another blur rushed right by her, this time it was a dark brown, almost black. Psycho snarled and tried to bite at it, and even Stupid tried clubbing it with his bat, but it was too fast.

"I saw it go over there!" Pepper pointed off into the back of the laboratory. The two male weasels rushed after the she-weasel as she followed the sound of shuffling feet.

_BAM!_

"OOMPH!" Pepper and Smart Ass grunted as the two crashed into each other, the she-weasel landing right on top the lead weasel.

"What the hell?! Watch where ya goin', doll!" Smart Ass growled, shoving her off of him. She sent him a narrow-eyed glare as she picked herself up. "What are ya doin' here, anyway?"

"I saw something rush over here. We came to investigate."

"You too?" Wheezy coughed, standing at Smart Ass's side. "We saw somethin' go this way, too. It was…eh, red, but it was a blur."

"We saw two blurs, too. One was reddish-brown, and the other was dark brown. Maybe black. And they went-"

"-back here," she and Smart Ass echoed at the same time. Their heads snapped at the sound of a creaking door.

The weasel in pink slowly and stealthily moved towards the door, stopping only to gesture with his revolver to follow and stay close. The five weasels surrounded the door before Smart Ass kicked the door open carefully, also taking the first step inside with Pepper and the rest following behind.

"All right, ya sneaks! Come out and I won't give ya a balanced breakfast of lead!" Smart Ass called out, flashing his flashlight around the small room.

"I thought it was dinnertime!" Stupid said, earning a smack on the back of the head from Wheezy.

Pepper narrowed her eyes at something that caught her attention. She stepped forward, ignoring the tug of her arm from Psycho.

"Pepper! Get back here!" Smart Ass hissed out.

Pepper peeked over a knocked over table and shone her light down it. She looked back and gestured with her flashlight, "Guys! Come and look at this!"

Psycho and Smart Ass were the first to get to the table. When Stupid and Wheezy came over to look, they were greeted with an…interesting surprise.

Four little weasel kits were huddled together, trembling in fear. From the looks of them, they were all around the same age and looked to be seven or eight years old. From their clothing, it looked like they had a rough life, too.

The first was obviously male. He was the most defiant and the one trying to protect the other three. He had dark brown, almost black fur with a white muzzle and belly. His bright orange eyes were defiant as he glared at the five of them. He only wore a dark brown jacket, a dirty white t-shirt, and a black and orange newsboy hat.

One kit had arms wrapped around the first one's waist. This one was female. She had reddish-brown fur with a light brown muzzle and belly, and her hair was the exact same color as her fur and was held in spiky pigtails, held up with bright yellow bows. She had long bangs that covered her pale blue eyes, which were filled with fear as she looked up at them. She was only dressed in a dirty yellow t-shirt with a violet flower in the center and blue denim overalls.

Two of the kits were hugging each other, one had fiery red fur with a grayish muzzle and belly, and the other had honey brown fur with white on the muzzle and belly.

The fiery red weasel kit was obviously a girl. She had chestnut colored hair that reached just past her shoulders, but the bangs where held back by a green headband. Her bright green eyes were filled with fear as well. She wore a light green turtleneck that had a few tears in it.

The honey brown weasel kit was a boy. He wore a tattered red jacket and a blue shirt underneath. He had magenta-colored eyes that didn't so much as hold fear, but more of concern towards his friends.

"What are you guys doing down here?" Pepper asked softly.

None of them answered, and when they didn't, Smart Ass snapped at them, "Well? What're ya squirts doin' down here?!"

"Smarty!" Pepper scowled at him, roughly shoving her elbow into his side when they cringed away.

A rumbling sound filled their ears and they all turned to the reddish-brown kit, she herself looking down at her stomach. She looked back up at the adult weasels, almost as if she were about to be punished.

Pepper reached into her bag, pulling out peanut butter and jelly sandwich and offered it to the kit. The dark brown weasel glared at it while the others looked at it hungrily, as if they were looking at a whole buffet of ice cream.

The kit looked over the sandwich, then took it hesitantly. She sniffed it over before biting down a little. She smiled a large smile as she swallowed it, and then she offered it to the honey brown weasel. Pepper couldn't blame them. From the looks of their stomachs, they probably hadn't had a decent meal in days, maybe even weeks.

"Come on out, there's plenty to go around," the gray-she weasel said, reaching into her bag for more food.

* * *

"Some 'investation' that turned out ta be," Smart Ass grumbled to himself, he being the first to exit the crevice. Pepper was the next, followed by Wheezy, then Psycho and Stupid.

Psycho giggled as the reddish-brown weasel kit was crawling onto his head. She had told them that her name was Daisy. Stupid followed them while holding onto the fiery red weasel kit in his arms. Her name was Amber.

Finally, the two boys came out of the ravine, insisting that they didn't want to be carried. The dark brown kit was named Tucker, but told them to call him 'Tuck,' and the other was named Ace.

"It's about time you guys got back!" Olive yelled from the back of the Toon Patrol car. "Where have you been?"

"Investigating!" Pepper shouted back. "Where's Greasy?"

"I put him in the back," she said, jabbing a thumb behind her. She arched an eyebrow and gave Psycho and Stupid a strange look before asking, "So…whatcha got there?"

"Like'em? We found'em down in the laboratory," Pepper smiled, leaning back against the truck. "These are Daisy, Amber, Tuck, and Ace. They're comin' back with us."

"Great…I hate this place. Let's go."

"For once, I completely 'conquer'," Smart Ass said, walking over to the driver's seat. Suddenly, he fell forward, but not before grabbing onto the back door of the car.

"Are you all right?!" Pepper rushed to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder to support him.

"Ya okay, boss?" Wheezy asked, resting his paw on his leader's shoulder. "Want me ta drive?"

"I'll be fine when all of ya stop 'crowning' me!" Smart Ass tried to push the two away, but nearly fell again in the process. However, the kits did look at each other at Smart Ass saying 'crowning' instead of 'crowding.'

Pepper took a good look at his face and nodded, "You're exhausted, Smarty. Even if ya could make it to the driver's seat, you'd probably crash as soon as soon as ya hit the gas pedal! Wheezy, you're drivin'!"

Wheezy took his paw away, slipping into the driver's seat. Stupid set Amber down in the back seat before walking back up to the front seat with Wheezy. Psycho jumped into the back and before the boys climbed in, Smart Ass objected,

"For the love of God, I'm doin' fine! I can drive just fine-"

He was suddenly silenced as Pepper wrapped a paw around his muzzle. She pulled his muzzle to hers and whispered lowly to him, "You're gonna get in the back and get some rest and that's final! Do I make myself clear?"

Smart Ass's golden eyes were wide, but he slowly nodded his head. Pepper gently pushed him into the back and closed the doors behind her.

The back was basically one long row that was pressed against the sides with a wide space on the floor. Greasy was laid out across one part, three of the children were sitting on another, which left one space left for Smart Ass to rest.

Pepper guided Smart Ass to the spot on the seats and laid him down. He looked like he wanted to fight back, but a loud yawn stopped him from doing so. His eyes drooped shut and he turned on his side towards the back, his breathing becoming calmer and calmer.

"All right, who else wants to take a nap?" Pepper asked, receiving five arms in the air, one of them being Psycho's.

The gray she-weasel sighed and reached into her bag and pulled out some blankets. She gave one large blanket to the children to share, another to Psycho and Daisy to share (they had become somewhat close in the two hours they'd known each other), one to Olive to put over Greasy, and she took the final one over Smart Ass.

Pepper smiled as he unconsciously grabbed onto the blanket, settling himself into it. She sat down next to him, setting a paw over his arm and kissed him on the cheek. Before she pulled away, she whispered to him softly,

"You're gonna be a great father, Smarty. I know it."


End file.
